Blizzard Entertainment has posted a new Creative Developer Q&A covering the storyline for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. In part five of the series, Brian Kindregan, co-lead writer of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and lead writer of Heart of the Swarm, answered more lore questions about the Starcraft universe.

Question: Why don't battleships have shields? When the Hyperion engaged the Bucephalus, someone clearly said the Dominion battleships didnít have their shields up, which implies that Battlecruisers have shields.

Answer: Battlecruisers maintain shields in space, when coming out of warp, in case of attack from other capital-class ships. They are completely vulnerable at that moment (as the Bucephalus was), so "shields up" is standard. Shields are also used during orbital insertion when a planet has an atmosphere. But Terran shields hog far too much energy to keep up all the time. While in an atmosphere and fighting smaller units, Terran ships rely on their thick armor and superior firepower.

Also, please recall that in Wings of Liberty there is an upgrade you can get, the Defensive Matrix, which absorbs 200 damage before failing.